Reflection On All Saints' Eve

At my parish's 2005 All Saints' Day mass my pastor gave a homily in which the great saints of old were mentioned and the great numbers of such Holy Ones marching forward through time was presented to the people.

In my mind's eye, I found myself seeing many columns of God's saints marching behind their special patrons: All the brown-robed Franciscans and those of that persuasion behind St. Francis of Assisi and St. Claire of that same town; Dominicans and many saintly scholars behind St. Dominic, St. Thomas of Aquino and St. Albert the Great; Those attorneys who, somehow, have become saints behind St. Thomas More; All good pastors (Including our beloved John Paul II) behind his countryman St. John Kanty; And, so forth---Each behind her or his leader in the march to glory.

As for myself, I hope to someday (If that term has any meaning in eternity) take my very, very, humble place behind St. Bernard of Clairvaux (Doctor of the Church and author of De Laude Novae Militae). My view of his column of saints puts the Knights of The Temple (Knights Templar), with their swords used and bloody wounds suffered in the defense of the Holy Land against the followers of that false prophet Mohammed, first behind him. Following them are such as: The Spanish Crusaders who drove those Muslims out of Iberia; King Jan of Poland and all the Poles who suffered, died and yet were victorious at the gates of Vienna and many other places against the Muslim-Turkish hordes; Don Juan of Austria and all of the brave seamen who sent the Turkish fleet to the deeps in defense of Christianity and true Civilization; And, the true Crusaders of today who battle the false, Muslim, prophet Osama bin Laden and his ilk throughout the world.

We should not forget the other false prophets such as the: “Three Emperor Gang” of World War I; The Nazi and Imperial Japan & foolish Italy of World War II; And the atheist communist and very false leaders, Lenin, Stalin Pol Pot, Mao and all of that evil lot. In defense of my nation, Christianity and Civilization I I did serve for three years in the US Navy, this being my only claim to be a follower of St. Bernard and his holy warriors---Among which are those who suffered and died at such places as Flanders' fields, the Bataan Death March, Normandy's beaches and hedgerows, upon and under the the too-hot and too-cold mountains of Korea, the streets of Baghdad, the jungles of Viet Nam and all the other places where evil is confronted, by true knights, throughout history and the world.

TO THOSE WHO MAINTIAIN THAT THERE ARE NOT JUST WARS AND THAT THE BATTLES FOUGHT, EVEN TODAY. AGAINST THE FOLLOWS OF SUCH FALSE PROPHETS AS MOHAMMED AND OSAMA BIN LADEN ARE NOT JUST WARS WILL BE UNLIKELY TO BE AMONG THE FOLLOWER OF ST. BERNARD ON THE ROAD TO GLORY---OR OF ANY OTHER IN THAT GRAND PROCESSION OF THOSE WHO DEFEND TRUTH AGAINST LIES AND GOOD AGAINST EVIL.